


Ghost/Guardian

by Alconis



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Destcember (Destiny), Destiny 2 main campaign, Gen, Ghost loves his guardian, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 19:43:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17331197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alconis/pseuds/Alconis
Summary: To every Ghost, their Guardian is the most precious.





	Ghost/Guardian

Her skin was still buzzing. She had missed the light, but she didn’t realize the depth of its absence until it had returned. It was as if the ghost of a full-body muscle ache was there, reminding you of the pain you had somehow ignored.

She came out of the forest with a giddy sense of fullness, her hands crackling with lightning and the electricity rolling up her forearms. She crashed through shallow water that ran through the cave floor, blinking at the strange, luminescent flowers that she saw with new eyes.  Vesper stopped, hyperfocused on the glow that seemed to bore into her eyes.

When she stilled, Kilo flew in front, spinning as he scanned the terrain. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to go back to the Farm.”

“Why?” Her ghost’s words shook her from her reverie, and she turned to him as he moved forward over the small cliff that they’d climbed earlier. She jumped, relishing the time it took to float down. She’d missed this simple thing, her light giving her the joy and power she had missed. “What if the Shard can do that for other guardians? Wouldn’t you want them to know?”

Kilo flipped back so he could float with his optic toward her, his shell twisting in concentric circles. “Yes, but…” He sighed; the noise was slightly digital and distorted. “What if it can’t?”

Vesper paused. “I mean… surely it would give someone else the same gift. Maybe.” A look of concentration crossed her face. “OK, I see.” She could feel the guilt and shame from Kilo as clear as day, and it bled into her mind.

“Yes.” There was a small, sad trill. “So many guardians and so many ghosts didn’t even make it this far.”

It began to soften the edges of the joyful feeling that she had, muting it until it rested like a knot in her chest. She remained silent, and they picked their way out of the cave, finding the night air and a starry sky above.

They found the road, and Vesper chewed on an idea. She wanted her friends to have the chance to get their light back, and the idea of them not having it was sour in her mouth. After a few minutes through the forest, she stopped dead.

“But, Kilo, we can’t just keep this to ourselves. Wouldn’t you want Tam to be able to revive Charlie? Or Chess to be able to take care of Alyce?”

Kilo remained silent. He flew forward again, pausing over a large, moss-covered tree that had fallen over the road, ancient and rotting. He set down on the crumbling bark, and his optic clicked. “I do. But, I don’t.”

Vesper’s eyebrows drew together as her mouth turned down. “Why? Help me understand.” She knelt in front of the log, reaching up to run the pad of a fingertip over the corner of Kilo’s badly singed and torn shell. She thought idly that she still needed to replace it, and a fresh wave of sadness overwhelmed her. In her mind, she could see Kilo’s favorite shell on the bookshelf in her now-destroyed apartment. The shell was probably ash or crushed under a Red Legion boot.

“I…” Kilo started, then clammed up, his shell rigid and still. “You’re special. You’ve  _always_ been special. And what if they’re not?”

Vesper’s heart stopped for a moment as a flood of emotions overwhelmed her. “Kilo, they  _are_ special. Don’t give me that nonsense.” Her heart started beating again, hammering in her chest. “We’re all special. Tam loves Charlie, just like Chess thinks Alyce hung the moon, which by the way, makes her completely mad.”

“But you’re  _my_ guardian. I don’t want anything to happen to you. And now, you’ve got your light, and we can be a team again.” Kilo flew up and hovered in front of Vesper’s face. “But until an hour ago, I was terrified.”

“Kilo…” Vesper’s voice was soft and sad, and she held out her hand. Kilo nudged it as he lifted away from where he rested on the downed tree. “You aren’t making any sense.”

“I almost lost you. And I’m scared that if we bring the others out here without their light, something could happen to them.” Vesper cupped her hand around Kilo as he shook, plates shaking, and she drew him to her chest. “I don’t want to have that happen to Tam. Or Chess. Or any of our friends.”

Vesper pressed her lips against one of his cold metal plates. “That’s what we do, Kilo. We go out, knowing that what we do is dangerous. And you taught me how to be brave. Can’t we let the others have that chance?”

Kilo was silent, and Vesper could hear the sounds of the forest over her breath.

“I’m going to tell them anyway,” she said finally. “If there’s any hope at all…”

The ghost hummed in a soft sort of agreement. “They are good guardians. And good ghosts.”

Vesper felt a warmth in her heart that wasn’t hers fill her chest, a sense of pride for her that Kilo was projecting. “Yes, I know.” She heard a crack of something stepping on a branch in the forest and pulled her scout rifle off her back, ducking down behind the log.

“Not as good as you though.” Kilo filled her ammo, and she watched two Red Legion Incendiors crush the overgrowth ahead. Vesper sighted one of their heads in her scope and shifted her aim to the large tanks of flammable oil on their back. Her rifle made a short crack, and the tank exploded, killing both.

“Hush. You just say that ‘cause you love me.” She gave Kilo a nod. “Come on; let’s get out of here before the rest of their pals come looking for them.”

“You’re right,” Kilo said, disappearing into Vesper’s pocket space. “I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was posted on Tumblr as a part of the #Destcember2018 challenge.  
> (edit 3-2-19: fixed minor grammar errors, and changed the name of Alyce's ghost)


End file.
